Linux - Wireless NetworkingThis forum is for the discussion of wireless networking in Linux.

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I'm running Kubuntu Gutsy Gibbon on a Dell laptop with a Linksys WPC54G v5 PCMCIA card (Marvell chipset). I actually got wireless networking going with a V1 version of this card (Broadcomm chipset), but I needed to change the card to v5 for reasons not relevant here. My router uses WPA-PSK security, and it works just fine for a wired connection to the very same laptop. It also works just fine for a wireless connection under Windows XP.

I can get a connection validated but I can't get the router to send an IP address. According to KWifiManager I have a strong connection, the SSID has been correctly identified, and an access point MAC address is available. The one thing that's not available is the local IP. I'm running wpa_supplicant, and ps -A shows that it is actually running.

I have another laptop running on the same network, also using Kubuntu Gutsy Gibbon, that works just fine. It has a built-in wireless chip. And at one point I actually got the v5 card to work correctly, but after a reboot I could never get it to work again!

I still have the problem with being unable to connect with my wireless network from Linux because I can't get a response from DHCP. It happens on two different Dell laptops, both of which have Linksys PCMCIA plug-in network cards. I even tried replacing the router, but that didn't help either. So I tried stopping wpa_supplicant and starting it again in debug mode. I suspect the output will reveal just what the cause of the problems is, but I don't know how to interpret it. Here it is, with repetitive parts deleted:

I think I have the same issue as you. I cannot get a DHCP ip address on my IBM thinkpad x60 unless I reboot my router.
Once I reboot, things work fine. My XP laptop has no issues connecting to the router, and the problem only started
happening after I upgraded to 8.04 (Kubuntu). I am not near my kubuntu laptop, so I will try to go over my logs later on.
My wireless card is an atheros something, and my router is an SMC something.

I had noticed that the card could associate with the access point, though it would drop that status after a while. But that didn't get me the DHCP-assigned address.

Sometimes when I can't get the wireless to work, I hook up the Ethernet cable, which is much less convenient. That accounts for the eth0 connection. If the wireless worked, I wouldn't be bothering with the cable.

The DHCPDISCOVER messages are being sent; whether they are being received but ignored on the AP, or not received at all can't be known from the output. Does your SMC have any logging? Can you see if there are any errors, events, or anything that indicates what is happening on the AP ?

From NetworkManager, try disabling any other Ethernet devices, and the wireless. Wait a moment, and then reenable the wireless.